Maybe Allen Iverson is simply more of a “Mount Rushmore” guy. Recently asked to name his “top five basketball players,” the former 76ers great soon to be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame went with four.
“Mike [Jordan], Shaq [O’Neal], Kobe [Bryant], LeBron [James],” Iverson told the rapper Jadakiss, who was conducting a short interview. The fifth player “could be a lot of dudes,” he said, clearly vexed by the prospect of having to choose one.
Instead, Jadakiss pivoted to current players, and Iverson picked Steph Curry, Russell Westbrook, Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant and Carmelo Anthony. “The list goes on and on,” he added.
Iverson had a similar problem when asked to pick his five favorite artists. “You,” he said to Jadakiss “Thank you,” the rapper responded before naming Biggie Smalls, Redman and Tupac Shakur, then struggling to choose from the likes of Nas, Jay-Z, Andre 3000, Q-Tip and Young Jeezy.
Iverson appeared to take the initial question as involving players against whom he had competed, given that he left such NBA legends as Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell and Oscar Robertson off his list. That might have been a good thing, considering that if hoops greats from all eras were included, the player nicknamed “The Answer” might still be pondering his.
As for his one favorite player, Iverson wasn’t asked and didn’t say, but his garb might have given that away. He was clad in Jordan’s No. 23 Bulls jersey, with a Chicago hat on top for good measure.